Process aspects would be such things as:
- Are SAT subject tests, recommendations, and interview required, recommended, optional, or not used?
- Is CSS Profile required?
- Is there an early decision or action deadline, or rolling admissions, and how much of the admit class is admitted through such early admissions?
Admissions criteria where whether they are considered, and how heavily weighted, include such things as:
- Relative weighting of GPA, rank, and test scores.
- Which types of extracurricular activities are considered stronger.
- Legacy status.
- First generation to college status.
These process aspects and admission criteria weightings can be set by policy beforehand, and admissions readers can be given general instructions about how to evaluate applications on the college’s intended admission criteria. Without such instructions, each admissions reader can apply his/her own preferences when rating an application, which would make the admissions process more of a lottery, even though colleges internally presumably prefer it not to be a lottery.
Why would you think that a college would not give its admissions readers criteria and weightings to consider when reading applications? Why would you think that a college would not consider the financial aid budget aspects of any change to the admissions process and criteria?
This means that, while a college that gives good financial aid can be need-blind while considering individual applications, it is almost certainly need-aware when making admissions policy for itself. It does not seem coincidental that many of the “need-blind meets-full-need” colleges somehow manage to end up with about half of their students not needing financial aid.